The Indian River School District referendum is less than 50 days away, and the Board of Education is making a point to reach out to residents.

For the first time since the current expense referendum was approved on Dec. 14, the Indian River Board of Education gathered to discuss the current expense referendum as well as to discuss their plan to reach out to residents within the district.

Superintendent Susan Bunting said she has received support from the public, including what she calls "referendum ambassadors," which are two parents from every school who work to have the referendum passed.

Bunting added she and district Public Information Officer David Maull have been working to prepare a PowerPoint to present at various meetings as well as ensuring referendum information is available in both English and Spanish.

The PowerPoint is an updated version of the one which was used for the last referendum, which failed to pass on Nov. 22.

In the PowerPoint, Bunting highlighted what the district needs and why the district is holding the current expense referendum.

In addition to the cuts the district will make themselves even if the referendum does not pass, which will be roughly $5 million according to district Chief Financial Officer Jan Steele, the district fears a rumored $15 million cut to the state education budget by the state of Delaware itself. Bunting said that cut would remove $900,000 from the district's budget.

Bunting also added Indian River and Appoqunimink are the two fastest growing districts in the state, and the growth has continued throughout the school year.

"Since the Sept. 30 unit count, the district has grown by roughly 300 students," said district Assistant Superintendent Mark Steele.

Board Vice President Rodney Layfield added since the end of the 2015-2016 school year, the district has grown by over 600 students, which Bunting equated to the size of an elementary school.

Despite the growth, the district has left open five administrative positions to ensure costs are kept down, as well as reducing their discretionary budget.

Jan Steele said the budget could be drastically cut beyond the already planned $5 million if the referendum does not pass.

"I did a very quick estimated budget for next year and if we don't pass the referendum we have to cut $13 million," Steele said. "That is a third of our current budget. We would have to do this to survive. This 49 cents is wonderful but to get to where we need to get I need 60 cents. It will take several years to build up our reserves."